Why we Christians still have to struggle with sins?

[Mercy Shown]

Even after being born again, God doesn’t take away all of our sinful struggles right away. Instead, He walks with us through them. The Christian life is not about instant perfection but about growing closer to Christ day by day. Our battles with sin keep us humble, remind us of our need for His grace, and teach us to lean on His Spirit instead of our own strength.


God also uses the struggle to shape our hearts—building patience, compassion, and maturity. Every time we stumble and come back to Him, we experience His mercy in a deeper way. And while we may wrestle with sin now, the promise is that one day, when Christ returns, He will finish the work He started in us and we’ll be free from sin forever (Phil. 1:6).


So if you feel the tension inside yourself, you’re not alone—it’s a sign you belong to Him, that His Spirit is alive in you, and that He’s faithfully bringing you through the refining process toward glory. Below are my study notes.

• Sanctification is a process, not an instant event.
  • Justification (being declared righteous in Christ) happens once, but sanctification (being made holy) is lifelong. Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you” (Phil 2:12–13). Struggle with sin is part of this refining process.
• God uses struggle to grow us in dependence.
  • If sin vanished instantly, we’d be prone to pride or self-reliance. Ongoing weakness keeps us leaning on God’s grace (2 Cor 12:9).
• The “old self” still lingers until glorification.
  • Believers are given new life, yet the flesh and its desires remain (Gal 5:16–17). The full removal of sin comes only when Christ returns and we are glorified.
• Struggle produces perseverance and maturity.
  • James 1:2–4 teaches that trials—even inner ones—shape endurance and spiritual wholeness. Our battles with sin can deepen compassion and humility toward others.
• Victory is real, but progressive.
  • The Spirit empowers us to resist and grow (Rom 8:13), yet the fight remains until the end. This tension keeps us awake and longing for Christ.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

Even after being born again, God doesn’t take away all of our sinful struggles right away. Instead, He walks with us through them. The Christian life is not about instant perfection but about growing closer to Christ day by day. Our battles with sin keep us humble, remind us of our need for His grace, and teach us to lean on His Spirit instead of our own strength.

I think our battles with sin (i.e., our sins and our sinfulness) reinforce both our need for Christ and His forgivenes on one hand and our distaste for sin due to new life in Christ on the the other hand.

God also uses the struggle to shape our hearts—building patience, compassion, and maturity. Every time we stumble and come back to Him, we experience His mercy in a deeper way. And while we may wrestle with sin now, the promise is that one day, when Christ returns, He will finish the work He started in us and we’ll be free from sin forever (Phil. 1:6).

Yes, we all look forward to the day when we will be further clothed, especially looking forward to seeing Him as He is.

So if you feel the tension inside yourself, you’re not alone—it’s a sign you belong to Him, that His Spirit is alive in you, and that He’s faithfully bringing you through the refining process toward glory. Below are my study notes.

• Sanctification is a process, not an instant event.
  • Justification (being declared righteous in Christ) happens once, but sanctification (being made holy) is lifelong. Paul says, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you” (Phil 2:12–13). Struggle with sin is part of this refining process.

I think you are combining spiritual growth and sanctification into one concept. Certainly, after nearly 50 years of Christ living in me, I would be able to notice if I was materially more holy like Jesus than I was at the beginning. But honestly, maturity has taught me to not make judgements like that. But it is easy to see that I am way more mature today than I was 50 years ago.

• God uses struggle to grow us in dependence.
  • If sin vanished instantly, we’d be prone to pride or self-reliance. Ongoing weakness keeps us leaning on God’s grace (2 Cor 12:9).

This is a good verse and a good application of the verse. As you said above, sin is a fact of life even after salvation. Some would argue that this point of view is just an excuse for continuing in sin. But it is curious to me that many of them attempt to re-define sin to exclude the depravity of the flesh and some smaller sins to avoid equating grace with the forgiveness of sins.

• The “old self” still lingers until glorification.
  • Believers are given new life, yet the flesh and its desires remain (Gal 5:16–17). The full removal of sin comes only when Christ returns and we are glorified.

I generally agree with this, but I'm not certain we must wait until Christ's return for glorification.

• Struggle produces perseverance and maturity.
  • James 1:2–4 teaches that trials—even inner ones—shape endurance and spiritual wholeness. Our battles with sin can deepen compassion and humility toward others.
• Victory is real, but progressive.
  • The Spirit empowers us to resist and grow (Rom 8:13), yet the fight remains until the end. This tension keeps us awake and longing for Christ.

Thanks for the post. You have shared many helpful things in here.

 

[RileyG]

Our battles are not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers.